How to find time for yourself

    Do you ever find yourself dying for some time for yourself? Many of us are so busy with work, school, and home life that often there is no time left over to do something that you enjoy. What follows are some ways to find out the necessary time you need to slow down, and enjoy life.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} This is a great one because you can get many things at the same time when you are walking. You're getting exercise, you have time to think or enjoy music, and you're helping to save the environment.

    Arrive early.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Then use this time for yourself: reading, writing, relaxation, thinking, or whatever.

    Buy tickets ahead. Sports, theater, concerts, or any other event you would enjoy. Make the plans with a friend later.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Evenings with yourself.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If others ask you to do things those nights, just tell them you have plans. Use the time for gardening, reading, exercise, or doing nothing!

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}What are you interested in? Strike while the iron is hot. Look up a club in your area today and join! If you can't find a club, consider starting one yourself!

A. Walk to work.

B. Join a group.

C. Take an education class.

D. Any appointment that you have, plan to arrive 15—30 minutes early.

E. If you want more time for yourself, you can get it.

F. Having the tickets already in your hand will force you to make it happen!

G. Try to save certain weeknights just for you.

    The importance of communication cannot be denied. Using effective communication skills is important to relationships and to success at work.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here are a few:

    Prevent misunderstandings. When you clearly communicate your wants, your needs, and your intentions, there will be no misunderstanding. Many of our arguments and disagreements occur simply because one of us did not communicate clearly. Another example of the importance of communication can be seen in the medical field. When a doctor tells a patient his diagnosis(诊断)and gives instructions for care and medicine, it is critical that the patient understands exactly what the doctor intends to communicate.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Strengthen relationships. We get to know each other (either in business or personally) by talking and listening{#blank#}3{#/blank#}People like people they know. In business, the more personable business person, who showed an interest in his customer, wins the sale every time over the business person who is aloof and shows no interests in the customer, whatsoever!

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Talking about your problem and stresses actually helps to relieve the stress and anxiety. You feel as if some of the burden has been lifted from you when a friend listens and shows that she cares.

    The importance of communication skills becomes obvious when you think of the many times that you communicate with someone during a single day{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Taking the time to improve our interpersonal skills is definitely worth the effort!

B. There are a number of reasons that communication is so important to us．

C. When you communicate well, people respond negatively to you.

D. Knowing more about someone strengthens that relationship.

E. Otherwise, serious results could occur!

F. Increase confidence.

G. Relieve stress.

                                                                                              Positive Thoughts

    Before you read any further, will you do me a quick favor? Find a mirror, take a look at yourself, and pay attention to the thoughts and feelings that run through your head. Don't feel silly. It's okay.

    Done? Let's continue. How did that feel? Did your brain think positive thoughts like, “{#blank#}1{#/blank#}” or did you put yourself down because you hate your hips or arms? If I had to guess, I would imagine most of you put yourselves down. So to encourage you to love yourself,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    You have strength of character.

    No matter what life throws at you, you keep moving forward. No matter how many times you fall down, you keep getting back up. Your strength to keep on living and stay true to yourself speaks highly of your character.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Giggle, giggle, giggle!

    Laughing is one of the best calorie-burning activities ever. Keep sharing giggles with everyone you come across because there is already enough darkness in the world. Be a source of light instead.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Your gratefulness shows that you appreciate the people who help you and the blessings in your life. If we can't be thankful for what we do have, what makes us think that we should obtain even more things to feel better? Your thankfulness is incredibly attractive.

    You are who you are.

    Love your body. Be unapologetic about who you are. Walk with confidence.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Smile because you deserve it. There is nothing more attractive than a person who is 100 percent comfortable in his or her skin.

A. You give thanks.

B. I look super cute today!

C. I have put on weight again recently.

D. Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

E. Love yourself because you are wonderful.

F. I made a list of reasons why you are attractive.

G. No matter how many struggles you face, you stand firm.

                                                                                                                   Social Media

    Social media can be defined (解释) as web-based and mobile media that are used for people to interact, connect and communicate with each other. It often involves the creation and sharing of content (writing, pictures, and video) that people make themselves, mostly through the Internet.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The first type involves people getting together to work on a project, for example, Wikipedia. Blogs and micro-blogs (such as Twitter) are another type of social media. There are other websites like YouTube that allow people to share content such as pictures, articles or videos.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} These sites allow people to stay in touch with friends, make new ones and join communities. Facebook is an example of this type. Many people like to play games on the Internet and, yes, there are social media games as well. These games allow gamers to interact with each other and play with or against other gamers.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} The final type of social media is websites like Second Life, where people can create avatars (化身) and use and create objects, as if they were in the real world.

    Social media are different from traditional media. With social media, many individual people in different places create content.

    Another difference is that people who produce content in social media don't need very special skills.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} It takes only a few minutes to write a twitter post, for example.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But whatever you might think, social media is here to stay.

A. World of Warcraft is a good example.

B. And social media content can be produced much faster.

C. In general, there are six different types of social media.

D. Another type of social media are social networking sites.

E. Some people think social media is good and some think it is bad.

F. In traditional media，people need special skills to produce something.

G. Social media is one of the fastest-growing industries in today's world

    Identical twins are born when an egg divides into two, resulting in the birth of two children with identical genes. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Some believe, however, that there is also a close connection between twins in the way they think, not just in the way they look. Twins finish each other's sentences, and share the same tastes in clothes or music. Some have argued that identical twins have mysterious, even psychic, powers.

    Although many identical twins claim to know what the other is thinking, there is no evidence to suggest that this is because of special powers. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Most of us have met up with a brother or sister, or close friend, and immediately asked, “What's wrong?” because we have unconsciously recognized, in their facial expression, that they are upset in some way. Signs we would miss in a stranger's behavior are instantly obvious in the way those close to us act. It is hardly surprising that twins notice the way their brother or sister's facial expressions or body language gives away how they feel. Indeed, the closeness of their bond is likely to improve this ability over the years.

    The media is full of stories in which a twin senses her brother or sister to be in trouble. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Damien Croft developed a bad headache one evening and, concerned, felt the need to phone his brother to check if everything was OK. When there was no reply, he drove to his brother's home, only to find him unconscious, having had an epileptic fit (癫痫症) and fallen from a ladder while decorating. On the face of it, his sixth sense had saved the day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Damien knew his brother was decorating, and knew that he was prone to epileptic fits. Subconsciously concerned, he had just imagined the worst-case situation. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. We all know such twins are often very similar in appearance.

B. The fact that something awful had happened was only a coincidence.

C. In contrast, there are many other stories which can be more easily explained.

D. In truth, of course, the events might also be explained in more ordinary terms.

E. Recent studies show the reasons of all those cases of mysterious happenings between identical twins.

F. In a recent, widely-reported case, for example, a young man survived a horrific fall thanks to a feeling his twin is supposed to have had.

G. A more believable explanation is that, like any pair of people who have grown up together, they are just good at understanding the thought processes behind what their twin does.

    With 17 million residents and 23 million bicycles, the Netherlands already has more bikes than people.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    The Dutch government recently announced that it will invest $ 390 million in cycling infrastructure to get 200, 000 more people commuting(通勤)by bike in three years time. Fifteen routes will be developed into “cyclist freeways”, 25, 000 bike parking spaces will be created and more than 60 bike storage facilities will be upgraded.

    “{#blank#}2{#/blank#},”says Stientje van Veldhoven, state secretary for that department, who is spearheading the project.

    It's not that people aren't already cycling in the Netherlands. In 2016, over a quarter of all trips made by Dutch residents were by bike. But only 25％of those trips were work—related, compared to 37％which were made for leisure. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    According to van Veldhoven, more than 50％of people in the Netherlands live less than 15 kilometers from work, and more than half of commuters car trips are under 7.5 kilometers long—a distance that “can easily be covered by bike, ”she says.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The Netherlands currently rewards commuting cyclists with tax credits of $0.22 per kilometer. Companies and employees would agree on the distance of a person's cycling route.

    However, this is currently a little—known benefit not supported by many employers, according to the infrastructure ministry. That's something the government is hoping to change by better promoting the scheme and getting more companies on board. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. The government is urging employers to provide better facilities for commuting cyclists, such as showers at the office, according to the ministry.

A. The rest were for school, shopping, or other activities

B. To get people to ditch their cars, money is being laid on the table

C. Now, it wants to get even more cyclists on the roads—and will pay people to do it

D. Today the Netherlands is known for its cycling culture, but that hasn't always been the case

E. My ambition is to ensure that people can easily get to work or school, or visit family and friends

F. The Netherlands is now one of the few countries that takes cycling seriously as a mode of transportation

G. There are already 11 major employers in the Netherlands committing to measures such as financing employees' bikes